President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Monday, December 14 and announced that beaches and recreational parks, in the areas with the highest infections, will be closed from December 16 to January 3. This applies to all of the Eastern Cape and Garden Route.
‘The more we travel, the greater the potential for the spread of the virus,’ said President Ramaphosa.
Curfew will begin at 11PM and end at 4PM. Non-essential establishments will have to close at 10 PM giving staff enough time to get home.
President Ramaphosa announced the following new rules:
- The sale of alcohol will only be permitted between 10am and 6pm on Monday to Thursday. Wineries, however, will still be able to conduct tastings and sales for off-site consumption.
- In the areas with the highest rate of infection, beaches and public parks will be closed for the duration of the festive season from December 16 to January 3.
- This will apply to all of the Eastern Cape, as well as to the Garden Route district in the Western Cape.
- In KwaZulu-Natal, beaches and public parks will be closed on what are traditionally the busiest days of the season. These days are the 16, 25, 26 and 31 of December 2020 and the 1, 2 and 3 January 2021.
- The beaches and public parks in the Northern Cape and the Western Cape – with the exception of the Garden Route – will remain open to the public over the festive season.
- Festivals, live music, and live performances at beaches are prohibited.
- These festive season restrictions will be reviewed in early January based on the state of the pandemic across the country.
The Garden Route and Sarah Baartman District Municipality have been declared hotspots. The same rules that apply to Nelson Mandela Bay will now apply to these two areas effective from midnight December 14.
All gatherings, including religious gatherings, may not be attended by more than 100 people for indoor events and no more than 250 for outdoor events.
He noted that the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng are leading the second wave of infections.
‘Gatherings, social gatherings and parties are the largest source of outbreaks,’ said President Ramaphosa. Hinting at what was to be announced.
President #Ramaphosa: We now know that nearly 1,000 young people from Gauteng who attended the event have tested positive for the coronavirus. What we don’t yet know is how many more people each of them has infected.
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) December 14, 2020
President #Ramaphosa: It is said that up to 300 families could in turn have been infected. The sad truth about is that festivals, concerts & parties – which should be occasions for fun & joy – are proving to be sources of infection & illness and may even lead to deaths.
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) December 14, 2020
President #Ramaphosa: Therefore, #gatherings – including religious gatherings – may not be attended by more than 100 people for indoor events and 250 for outdoor events. pic.twitter.com/z0DXfSK7x7
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) December 14, 2020
President #Ramaphosa: Therefore, the following measures will be implemented:
The hours of the #curfew will be longer, starting at 11pm and ending at 4am. pic.twitter.com/uRHBu8wcyw
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) December 14, 2020
President #Ramaphosa: Registered wineries & wine farms may continue to offer tastings and wine sales to the public for off-site consumption over weekends. pic.twitter.com/rA2xh8YZ7m
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) December 14, 2020
Picture: Screenshot from video
